Jose Mourinho’s difficulties at Manchester United

Transfers

Some may look at the signings that Manchester United have made so far and think that they're probably about half way there, and so far, it's been underwhelming.

Mourinho has spent £52m for Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk, paid £19 to Porto for Diogo Dalot, and signed Lee Grant from Stoke City for £1.5m.

A lot of football pundits are questioning whether these recruits actually improves Mourinho's chances of Premier League success next year or not.

At the World Cup, Fred wasn't good enough to displace Casamiro or Fernandinho from their positions, and ended up making not a single appearance at the tournament.

Playing style

There are still a lot of people out there that think that United's style of play is anything but pretty.

But Mourinho may comeback at his critics by claiming the Europa League and League Cup in his first season, as well as finishing second in the league.

What some are concerned by is United's apparent obsession with dogmatic defence, rather than creating an exciting midfield and attack.

Mourinho has high hopes for Sanchez, who has had the close season to recover, unlike a lot of his teammates. However, the start of the season hasn't gone quite to plan as he was unable to travel to the US due to visa issues.

Pogba's form

Pogba was a fantastic player with the national side in Russia, and Mourinho will hope that he can turn on that talent for United.

The Frenchman will have three weeks off to prepare for the season.

Despite his brilliant World Cup campaign, something that could affect his performance is his relationship with Mourinho.

Their relationship has been poor over the course of last season, and without improvement, it could cause more of a rift between players.

Inspiration

Mourinho was once known for his pitch side manner at Chelsea, but he seems to have toned it down after the move.

Now he seems like a more sombre man, and the spirit which used to rub off on his Chelsea team, doesn't seem to do so at United.

If Mourinho were able to restore his own fiery enthusiasm, perhaps his United players would have some more success.